A weapons engineer designs, develops, tests, and manages weapons and weapons systems for the federal government. They are employed by the military, the Department of Defense, or a private defense contractor to help ensure national security through weapons.
A weapons engineer may be a mechanical, electrical, nuclear, aerospace, or chemical engineer. Whatever type of engineer they may be, a weapons engineer needs to have substantial knowledge of weaponry, defense systems, and regulations regarding weapons.
If you think the career of a weapons engineer is your true calling, you would need to finish a degree in engineering, gain adequate work experience in your field, obtain weaponry knowledge, and prove proficiency in CAD software and problem-solving. Moreover, you would need to have exemplary skills in strategy, analysis, mathematics, time management, and communication, among many other soft skills.
The job of a weapons engineer is not easy. With that, they are compensated with a salary of over $100,000, averaging at $104,000 per year.
How to Become a Weapons Engineer
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a weapons engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.18 an hour? That's $83,579 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 12,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Weapons Engineer Do
There are certain skills that many weapons engineers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed creativity, listening skills and math skills.
How To Become a Weapons Engineer
If you're interested in becoming a weapons engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 72.7% of weapons engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 13.6% of weapons engineers have master's degrees. Even though most weapons engineers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a weapons engineer. In fact, many weapons engineer jobs require experience in a role such as mechanical engineer. Meanwhile, many weapons engineers also have previous career experience in roles such as systems engineer or project engineer.
Average Salary for a Weapons Engineer
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Weapons Engineers
1. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
2. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
8. University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT • Private
9. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
10. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Top Skills For a Weapons Engineer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 52.4% of weapons engineers listed engineering support on their resume, but soft skills such as creativity and listening skills are important as well.
Weapons Engineer Demographics
Weapons Engineer Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among weapons engineers, 15.4% of them are women, while 84.6% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among weapons engineers is White, which makes up 78.8% of all weapons engineers.
- The most common foreign language among weapons engineers is Dakota at 50.0%.
Online Courses For Weapons Engineer That You May Like
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"Introduction to Systems Engineering" uses a structured yet flexible approach to provide a holistic, solid foundation to the successful development of complicated systems. The course takes you step by step through the system life cycle, from design to development, production and management. You will learn how the different components of a system interrelate, and how each contributes to a project's goals and success. The discipline's terminology, which can so often confuse the newcomer, is presen...
Learn all the basic theories and principles of electrical engineering...
How Do Weapons Engineer Rate Their Jobs?
Top Weapons Engineer Employers
Most Common Employers For Weapons Engineer
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ball | $101,469 | $48.78 | 2 |
| 2 | NSWC Federal Credit Union | $99,413 | $47.79 | 1 |
| 3 | Boeing | $98,995 | $47.59 | 2 |
| 4 | Us Navy | $96,590 | $46.44 | 5 |
| 5 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $96,570 | $46.43 | 1 |
| 6 | US Air Conditioning Distributors | $96,050 | $46.18 | 1 |
| 7 | Northrop Grumman | $94,201 | $45.29 | 3 |
| 8 | Arkansas Heart Hospital | $92,746 | $44.59 | 1 |
| 9 | Bell Flight | $92,350 | $44.40 | 1 |
| 10 | Support Systems Homes Inc. | $90,628 | $43.57 | 1 |